Sza Blasts CrossFit CEO For Making Offensive George Floyd Comment
On June 6, CrossFit founder Greg Glassman replied disrespectfully to a tweet about police brutality, and singer Sza put him on blast
Photo: @sza/Instagram
On June 6, CrossFit founder Greg Glassman replied disrespectfully to a tweet about police brutality, and singer Sza put him on blast. His replied tweet could have gotten lost in the Twitter-sphere, but thanks to Sza’s fast social media action, Glassman — and CrossFit — is facing a significant backlash.
It all began when the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation tweeted, “Racism and discrimination are critical public health issues that demand an urgent response. #BlackLivesMatter.” Glassman replied to that tweet by commenting, “It’s FLOYD-19.”
Sza responded to his comment, by tweeting, “THIS IS THE CEO OF CROSSFIT .. a man dedicated to making ppl healthy. Ban this bastard and tag ur fave black fit inspo!!!”
The backslash was quick and fierce. Gyms all over the country have denounced the use of Glassman’s Crossfit, which is a form of high-intensity interval training. He also has lost major sponsors.
Brick New York posted on their Instagram that they “will not be associated with an organization that fails to stand for equality and speak up against racial injustice.” They added, “We will not be renewing our affiliation with CrossFit in August 2020. We will instead be donating our normal affiliate fee to organizations that promote justice and equality.
THIS IS THE CEO OF CROSSFIT .. a man dedicated to making ppl healthy . Ban this bastard and tag ur fave black fit inspo !!! https://t.co/Usehi3hQlW
— SZA (@sza) June 7, 2020
At BRICK, we create our own world-class programming in-house. We will continue to offer the same programming once we reopen, but moving forward, CrossFit classes will be rebranded under a different name.”
Adidas AG-owned Reebok announced they would be ending their 10-year-old partnership with CrossFit, the New York Times reports.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBJAg_KgYVb/
“Recently, we have been in discussions regarding a new agreement, however, in light of recent events, we have made the decision to end our partnership with CrossFit HQ,” Reebok said in a statement on Sunday. “We will fulfill our remaining contractual obligations in 2020.”
Glassman has since issued an apology — though not from his Twitter handle in which he initially used to send out the offensive tweet. Via @CrossFit, Glassman said, “I, CrossFit HQ, and the CrossFit community will not stand for racism. I made a mistake with the words I chose yesterday. My heart is deeply saddened by the pain it has caused. It was a mistake, not racist but a mistake.”
Sorry, Glassman, that apology won’t do.
